In Iran, the convicted person to be killed is wrapped in a sheet and buried; male convicts are buried from the waist down, female convicts are buried deeper to prevent the breasts from becoming exposed. Article 104 of the Iranian penal code states, with reference to the penalty for adultery: ...the stones should not be too large so that the person dies on being hit by one or two of them; they should not be so small either that they could not be defined as stones. Amnesty International argues that this is clear evidence that "the punishment of stoning is designed to cause the victim grievous pain before death".
In Judaism and Christianity:
In the Old Testament of the Bible, stoning is specifically prescribed as the method of execution for crimes such as murder, blasphemy and apostasy, and in some cases adultery. However, the Talmud seriously limits the use of the death penalty to those criminals who were warned not to commit the crime in the presence of two witnesses, and persisted in committing the crime also in front of two witnesses. In the time this laws were used - approximately 400 years - there were only eight such executions. In Judaism there is no executioner who executes the criminal because by that he would himself be guilty of murder. In fact, the witnesses are required to throw the first stones. In this way stoning was used as a society punishment to the criminal and secondly there was no way of knowing which stone killed the criminal.
Extracts from Deuteronomy 13:9 to 13:10:
"you must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. (13:9)"
"stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt out of the land or slavery. (13:10)"
According to Islamic law, stoning is prescribed as the proper punishment for married men and women who commit adultery when proof is established, or there is pregnancy, or a confession. It is worthy to note that the Quran does not mention stoning. The only punishment for adultery is lashings. The adultery is only proved when four eye witnesses testify that the man and woman have indeed gone further than just embracing and kissing, to have sex. The crime is also proved if one bears witness against his or her own self four times, or if there is a pregnancy. Though the Hadith allows stoning, the Quran does not explicitly prescribe stoning as a punishment.
There is disagreement among modernist Islamic thinkers as to the applicability of stoning for adultery, as religious texts often give examples with and without stoning, but the Quran makes no mention of stoning as punishment for any crime. However, traditionalists do not see this as a problem, since the Hadith can also establish laws which the Qur'an does not mention.
Quotes from Islamic traditions (Hadeeths) not found in the Quran:
Extracts from Kitab Al-Hudud:
Book 017, Number 4192:
'Ubada b. as-Samit reported that whenever Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) received revelation, he felt its rigour and the complexion of his face changed. One day revelation descended upon him, he felt the same rigour. When it was over and he felt relief, he said: Take from me. Verily Allah has ordained a way for them (the women who commit fornication),: (When) a married man (commits adultery) with a married woman, and an unmarried male with an unmarried woman, then in case of married (persons) there is (a punishment) of one hundred lashes. And in case of unmarried persons, (the punishment) is one hundred lashes and exile for one year.
Crimes sometimes punished by stoning include blasphemy, apostasy, prostitution, adultery, murder, and corruption on earth.
Stoning is a legal sentence for certain activities deemed criminal in some (but not all) of the Islamic countries governed by Sharia law, including the following:
Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates
Rating: User: MikeNobody 2007-01-15T16:06:13.45Z
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